Marshall University Athletics
Sunday, May 2
Wilson, N.C.
1:00 PM
Marshall University
vs
Fordham University
Jan-Erik Leinhos
Photo by: Adam Gue
No. 10 Men’s Soccer Prepares for No. 23 Fordham in Second Round of NCAA Tournament
5/1/2021 12:04:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Match to be streamed on Vimeo
WILSON, N.C. – The 10th-ranked Marshall men's soccer team is set for its match against the 23rd-ranked Fordham Rams in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The contest is scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m., from Gillette Field #1.
The Thundering Herd comes in with an overall record of 9-2-2 and champions of Conference USA. The Rams are 7-0-2 and won the Atlantic 10 title. The winner will advance to the third round, May 6, and take on the winner of No. 1 Clemson and American University. American won its first round match over Jacksonville on penalty kicks after playing to a 3-3 draw.
Match Details
TICKETS
Marshall NCAA Match Notes (PDF)
NCAA Men's Soccer Championship Cup Page
Live Stats: NCAA.COM
Live Video: VIMEO through Barton College
Series History: First ever meeting
This season is Marshall's second-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Herd advanced to the dance in 2019 for the first time in program history after winning the C-USA title 1-0 over Charlotte. Marshall, ranked No. 11 then, hosted and defeated West Virginia, 2-1, in the second round in front of a Hoops Family Field record crowd of 2,126 fans. The Herd moved on to the third round at No. 6 Washington, where the season came to an end with a 4-1 loss.
Last Time Out: Marshall 2, Charlotte 0 Conference USA Championship
Marshall honored its two seniors in Jamil Roberts and Kyle Winquist before taking the pitch against No. 12 Charlotte for the Conference USA Championship. The Herd needed a win while the 49ers needed a win or a tie for the title. The teams were scoreless at the end of the first half. There were 10 total shots in the first 45 minutes, but only one on goal from Vitor Dias in the 39th minute that was saved by Charlotte's goalkeeper. In the second half, the 49ers made an offensive push but were stopped by the Herd's defense. Oliver Semmle made his first save of the match in the 58th minute. It was the first shot on goal that Marshall had allowed in almost 323 minutes.
The Herd immediately regained control and pushed the ball back to its attacking third. Marshall had the ball inside the penalty box when a handball was called against Charlotte. Jan-Erik Leinhos lined up for the shot and converted his third PK of the season to give the Herd the 1-0 lead in the 64th minute. Less than four minutes later, Pedro Dolabella received a pass from Milo Yosef and fired a long range shot that just deflected off the inside edge of the near post for a goal. The 49ers began to press and had a flurry of chances over the final 21 minutes with five more corner kicks and three shots on goal. However, Semmle made all three saves and the defense continued to clear away opportunities. Charlotte had one last corner kick with 56 seconds to go but the Marshall defense stood tall and denied the 49ers.
When the final buzzer sounded, the Herd celebrated in front of the home crowd its eighth shutout of the season to earn its second-consecutive Conference USA Championship and the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Marshall also piled up numerous C-USA postseason awards. Head coach Chris Grassie was named Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season. Dias raked in Player of the Year, Offensive MVP, Co-Midfielder of the Year and First Team All-Conference. Semmle won the Golden Glove for most shutouts, Goalkeeper of the Year and First Team All-Conference. Also selected to the first team were Roberts and Nathan Dossantos. Honored on the Second Team were Dolabella, Yosef, Collin Mocyunas and Max Schneider. Gabriel Alves and Jacob Adams were named to the All-Freshman Team.
Twelve different players have combined to score 24 goals for Marshall this season, with five players netting two or more. Dias leads with six goals and Roberts leads in assists with four. The Herd has outscored its opponents 24-6 as well as out-shooting the competition 223-71 and 98-21 on goal. Marshall's stifling defense held three teams this year to zero shots on goal in Bowling Green, Florida Atlantic and UAB. The Herd had a player named Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week four times with Dossantos bringing home the award three times and Mocyunas once. Dossantos and Mocyunas in the center have combined with Leinhos and Alves on the outside to create a great back line just in front of Semmle in the net.
The Opponent
The 23rd-ranked Fordham Rams defeated George Washington, 2-0, to win the Atlantic 10 Championship. Fordham just cracked the top 25 in the NCAA/United Soccer Coaches Poll on April 20, after winning the title and advancing to the NCAA Tournament.
Matt Sloan was named MVP of the tournament after scoring the tying goal against Saint Louis in the semi-finals, and the game-winner in the championship. Sloan now leads the team in scoring with four goals and nine points. Three players have three goals each and seven different players have scored at least once for the Rams total of 17 goals during the season. Sameer Fathazada has three goals and two assists, with all three of his scores credited as game-winners.
Fordham's defense has been outstanding this season allowing just five goals in nine contests. Goalkeeper Josh Levine had a great year recording 36 saves, a save percentage of .878, and sports a goals against average of 0.52. The Rams outshot the opposition 123-102 and 52-41 on goal.
Head coach Carlo Acquista is in his second year at the helm. Acquista was formerly the head coach at Division II Adelphi University in Garden City, N.Y., where he amassed an overall record of 120-69-19 in 11 seasons. Acquista and Grassie have faced each other before while Acquista was at Adelphi and Grassie was coaching at Charleston.
For all of the latest information on the Marshall men's soccer team, follow the Herd on Twitter @HerdMSoccer, Facebook at Marshall University Soccer and on www.herdzone.com.
To follow all Thundering Herd sports and get live stats, schedules, and free live audio, download the Marshall Athletics App for iOS or Android!
The Thundering Herd comes in with an overall record of 9-2-2 and champions of Conference USA. The Rams are 7-0-2 and won the Atlantic 10 title. The winner will advance to the third round, May 6, and take on the winner of No. 1 Clemson and American University. American won its first round match over Jacksonville on penalty kicks after playing to a 3-3 draw.
Match Details
TICKETS
Marshall NCAA Match Notes (PDF)
NCAA Men's Soccer Championship Cup Page
Live Stats: NCAA.COM
Live Video: VIMEO through Barton College
Series History: First ever meeting
This season is Marshall's second-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Herd advanced to the dance in 2019 for the first time in program history after winning the C-USA title 1-0 over Charlotte. Marshall, ranked No. 11 then, hosted and defeated West Virginia, 2-1, in the second round in front of a Hoops Family Field record crowd of 2,126 fans. The Herd moved on to the third round at No. 6 Washington, where the season came to an end with a 4-1 loss.
Last Time Out: Marshall 2, Charlotte 0 Conference USA Championship
Marshall honored its two seniors in Jamil Roberts and Kyle Winquist before taking the pitch against No. 12 Charlotte for the Conference USA Championship. The Herd needed a win while the 49ers needed a win or a tie for the title. The teams were scoreless at the end of the first half. There were 10 total shots in the first 45 minutes, but only one on goal from Vitor Dias in the 39th minute that was saved by Charlotte's goalkeeper. In the second half, the 49ers made an offensive push but were stopped by the Herd's defense. Oliver Semmle made his first save of the match in the 58th minute. It was the first shot on goal that Marshall had allowed in almost 323 minutes.
The Herd immediately regained control and pushed the ball back to its attacking third. Marshall had the ball inside the penalty box when a handball was called against Charlotte. Jan-Erik Leinhos lined up for the shot and converted his third PK of the season to give the Herd the 1-0 lead in the 64th minute. Less than four minutes later, Pedro Dolabella received a pass from Milo Yosef and fired a long range shot that just deflected off the inside edge of the near post for a goal. The 49ers began to press and had a flurry of chances over the final 21 minutes with five more corner kicks and three shots on goal. However, Semmle made all three saves and the defense continued to clear away opportunities. Charlotte had one last corner kick with 56 seconds to go but the Marshall defense stood tall and denied the 49ers.
When the final buzzer sounded, the Herd celebrated in front of the home crowd its eighth shutout of the season to earn its second-consecutive Conference USA Championship and the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Marshall also piled up numerous C-USA postseason awards. Head coach Chris Grassie was named Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season. Dias raked in Player of the Year, Offensive MVP, Co-Midfielder of the Year and First Team All-Conference. Semmle won the Golden Glove for most shutouts, Goalkeeper of the Year and First Team All-Conference. Also selected to the first team were Roberts and Nathan Dossantos. Honored on the Second Team were Dolabella, Yosef, Collin Mocyunas and Max Schneider. Gabriel Alves and Jacob Adams were named to the All-Freshman Team.
Twelve different players have combined to score 24 goals for Marshall this season, with five players netting two or more. Dias leads with six goals and Roberts leads in assists with four. The Herd has outscored its opponents 24-6 as well as out-shooting the competition 223-71 and 98-21 on goal. Marshall's stifling defense held three teams this year to zero shots on goal in Bowling Green, Florida Atlantic and UAB. The Herd had a player named Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week four times with Dossantos bringing home the award three times and Mocyunas once. Dossantos and Mocyunas in the center have combined with Leinhos and Alves on the outside to create a great back line just in front of Semmle in the net.
The Opponent
The 23rd-ranked Fordham Rams defeated George Washington, 2-0, to win the Atlantic 10 Championship. Fordham just cracked the top 25 in the NCAA/United Soccer Coaches Poll on April 20, after winning the title and advancing to the NCAA Tournament.
Matt Sloan was named MVP of the tournament after scoring the tying goal against Saint Louis in the semi-finals, and the game-winner in the championship. Sloan now leads the team in scoring with four goals and nine points. Three players have three goals each and seven different players have scored at least once for the Rams total of 17 goals during the season. Sameer Fathazada has three goals and two assists, with all three of his scores credited as game-winners.
Fordham's defense has been outstanding this season allowing just five goals in nine contests. Goalkeeper Josh Levine had a great year recording 36 saves, a save percentage of .878, and sports a goals against average of 0.52. The Rams outshot the opposition 123-102 and 52-41 on goal.
Head coach Carlo Acquista is in his second year at the helm. Acquista was formerly the head coach at Division II Adelphi University in Garden City, N.Y., where he amassed an overall record of 120-69-19 in 11 seasons. Acquista and Grassie have faced each other before while Acquista was at Adelphi and Grassie was coaching at Charleston.
For all of the latest information on the Marshall men's soccer team, follow the Herd on Twitter @HerdMSoccer, Facebook at Marshall University Soccer and on www.herdzone.com.
To follow all Thundering Herd sports and get live stats, schedules, and free live audio, download the Marshall Athletics App for iOS or Android!
---HerdZone.com---
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